Equities dip, volatility rises as tariffs take effect 

The VIX spiked after the open this morning, marking the highest level of volatility we’ve seen so far this year

article-image

Angel Soler Gollonet/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share


This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.


President Trump’s 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada went into effect after a one-month delay this morning. 

Both countries announced plans to retaliate: Canada will put a 25% levy on around $100 billion of US imports and Mexico will share its next moves on Sunday. 

Trump also slapped another 10% duty on Chinese imports. In response, China will charge an extra 15% for a range of US imports, including chicken, wheat and cotton. An added 10% tariff will be placed on soybeans, seafood and other products. 

China also filed a lawsuit against the US with the World Trade Organization. 

Markets reacted as expected: Gold is up, stocks are down and the VIX is elevated. As of this afternoon, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite had both nearly erased all gains since Election Day. The S&P 500 is now down 1.2% year to date while the tech-heavy Nasdaq has lost more than 5% since the start of the year. 

The VIX spiked to above 26 shortly after the open this morning, marking the highest level of volatility we’ve seen so far this year. Uncertainty surrounding tariff policies and interest rate decisions are weighing on investor sentiment. 

Perhaps surprisingly, the Mexican peso and Canadian dollar dipped just a bit, likely reflecting investors’ belief that these higher tariffs will be short-lived. Personally, I think this is wishful thinking. The longer these new trade fees stay in place, the greater the selloff we’ll see on both currencies.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

morpho 2 graphic.png

Research

Utilizing a ‘DeFi Mullet’ approach, Coinbase’s Bitcoin-backed loans integration with Morpho demonstrates a powerful blueprint for CEXs to monetize dormant assets by expanding adoption of wrapped products (cbBTC, USDC) while also supporting native and/or preferred DeFi ecosystems (Base) which can further lead to downstream growth in onchain liquidity and increased utilization of the related assets.

article-image

President Donald Trump announced a 10% levy on almost all goods and additional tariffs on so-called “worst offending” countries

article-image

Solana may be in “recomposition” mode, as new protocols put usefulness ahead of mere virality

article-image

The stablecoin issuer will have to contend with bigger players and the interest rates environment

article-image

The president reportedly was still working on his tariff policy plans late Tuesday evening

article-image

The chain could mark a turning point in bitcoin’s utility

article-image

Should higher-fidelity graphics be the goal for crypto games — which result in much higher costs and risk?